Author's Note- Hey Everyone, yes I know that I haven't finished 'In the Cradle of Storms' yet, but I was kind of tired having to write WWII America as it is a bit of jerk in that time period. My solution was to start writing a piece about Cold War America. I hope that you will enjoy it.
Description- On March 27, 1964 the largest earthquake in North America's history hit Alaska. In the wake of the massive tsunami, America was faced with the question…could a state die? This is an ACE story with a smattering of states, provinces, and territories. It follows one greatest humanitarian missions that the United States has ever undertaken, Operation Helping Hands, as well as, Canada's efforts to rebuild a broken British Columbia.
Dedication- To those who have learned that when the earth moves, one should fear the sea.
Disclaimer- I do not happen to own Hetalia, but I have been in my share of earthquakes
Chapter 1- The Earth Moved
Everything hurt.
Consciousness crashed down on America with enough force that he found himself wishing that darkness would just swallow him again. America tried to remember what had happened, but couldn't focus because of the rolling waves of pain. He did his best to breath slowly and fragments of memory began to bubble up.
He was America and he was currently locked at war in…in Vietnam. He had just lost a President recently…it was President Kennedy, he was shot. He had been depressed after John was killed. That was why he was on this trip. Canada thought America was isolating himself, and Italy had invited the two of them to spend Easter in Rome. Northern Italy had brought them to see the night life in Rome. Canada was getting tired so they were planning on heading back when…well, the only way America could think of describing the intensity of the pain was perhaps being run over by an air carrier.
Slowly America realized that there was rough hand pressed against his forehead trying to gauge his temperature. America cracked a gummy eye open, only to see a very concerned looking Germany leaning over him. Things must have been pretty bad if Italy pulled in Germany.
"What is going on?" America couldn't help but wince as his own voice grated across his ears.
"You had a major earthquake." German said gravely.
"Where?" America asked as he tried, but failed to sit up.
"It looks like it happened somewhere in Alaska…" German's explanation was cut short when America gasped and curled into a fetal position.
"Probably another aftershock." Italy commented softly.
"What?" Germany asked in quiet confusion, as he glanced to the other side of the room. Somewhere on the neighboring bed Canada groaned and curled tighter underneath the mound of blankets.
"Aftershock." Italy explained; his voice was remarkably cheerful considering the situation at hand. "The rumblings and smaller quakes that come after a really big earthquake."
"I know what they are." America immediately felt a bit guilty for speaking harshly to Italy, but the pounding in his head was taking center stage. "But that one was so big, usually they aren't this big. That aftershock felt like…it felt like the earthquake that level San Francisco…"
America's voice trailed off as he began to process the layers of pain. There was the normal migraine that accompanied a large earthquake, more intense but the same type of pain. Then there painful burn of cities on fire, but this sensation was dwarfed by the deep seated nausea that came from giant waves throw against the coast. As the feeling intensified, America realized that his peripheral vision. It was almost Alaska had disappeared of the face of the planet.
"America, what is going on?" The panic in rising Italy's voice forced America back into the moment.
"I need to get home…" America tried to swallow down the bile that was rising in his throat. "I need to get home now."
A world away a massive tsunami was sweeping its way along the western coast of North America destroying harbors, swallowing ships, and drowning every community within its reach.
Historical Note- When you read this story, you will notice that the magnitude of the Good Friday Earthquake will change as the story progresses. There are two reasons for this. The first is the fact it takes times for scientists to gather all seismograph data from around the world. Even today it can takes months to fully process the data from a large earthquake, prior to computers the process took years. The second reason is that the scales we used to measure earthquakes have resolved. As a result, the Good Friday Earthquake is reported as an 8.5 in most 1960's reports. In today modified moment magnitude scale used by most geologists the earthquake is reported as a 9.2 making it the second largest earthquake ever measured.
For the narratives sake I will be using the historic numbers. These numbers were sourced from three sets of sources. The first is historic New York Times articles. The second is the official armed forces report on Operation Helping Hand, and the last is a series of USGS reports on earthquake, tsunami, and seismic seiching.
End Note- Yes I know this chapter was a bit short, I promise that the next one will be a lot longer. If you can't wait for the next chapter to come out than I encourage you to leave a review. Your feedback encourages me to write the next chapter faster. Also if you have any interest in possibly betaing this story let me know. Thanks!
Next Chapter- Reports- Communication is cut off in large areas of Alaska and British Columbia and many experts feel that several communities may have been completely destroyed. It is clear that America and Canada need to be home to deal with this crisis so England pulls some strings to get the North America Twins back to their side of the Atlantic.